Townsend's Chipmunk call & McDonald Forest

[Don Boucher]

Hello,

This morning I ran a loop through McDonald Forest. From Jackson Creek Rd., Rd. 610 to Lewisburg Saddle, Rd. 600 to Dimple Hill and then Upper Dan's Trail to Jackson Creek Rd.

At Rd. 610, just north of Jackson Creek Rd. I saw two coyotes. There's a new clearcut there where they took mostly conifers but left many oaks, madrones, maples and scattered Douglas-Firs.

On Rd. 600 I saw some little brown thing scampering through vegetation along the road cut. It was a Pacific Wren fledgling that could only fly away very clumsily.

I also heard a couple flocks of Purple Martins and a Pileated Woodpecker.

I attached an audio file (WAV) of a Townsend's Chipmunk making what I call the "chup" call. From a distance, it could be mistaken for a pygmy owl. But the owl call is a monotone "toot" whereas the chipmunk's call varies more. If your device won't play the attached audio file, we have an old video of a Townsend's Chipmunk making two kinds of calls. First a sharp, squeak and then the "chup" call: https://youtu.be/kkGHFxEh3Ig

Pygmy Owl for comparison: https://youtu.be/kkRh_Ry61QA

Don Boucher

NE Corvallis